The Greenback struggled to get back on its feet as medium-tier U.S. economic reports printed mixed results while the Loonie was bogged down by another drop in crude oil.

Major Events:

Mixed medium-tier U.S. data – As in the previous day’s New York trading session, Uncle Sam printed mixed medium-tier data. The JOLTS job openings report showed a 5.52 million reading for November, lower than the estimated 5.59 million increase, while the October reading was downgraded from 5.53 million to 5.45 million. The quits rate was unchanged at 2.1% while the layoffs and discharges rate also held steady at 1.1%.

On a less downbeat note, the NFIB small business index climbed from 98.4 to 105.8 in December, outpacing the consensus at 99.6. Components of the report revealed that the pickup was mostly spurred by stronger expectations for economic improvement, followed by speculations of rising sales levels.

Weak Canadian building permits and crude oil dips – Data from Canada also came in mixed, as the economy reported a stronger than expected housing starts figure at 207K instead of holding steady at 187K but printed a 0.1% drop in building permits instead of the estimated 2.4% gain.

Black Crack price action wasn’t on the Loonie’s favor either, as the commodity chalked up another day in losses while traders seem to be pricing in a buildup in inventories due to the recent rise in U.S. oil rig counts. WTI crude oil fell $1.16 to $50.80 per barrel.

Major Market Movers:

USD – The scrilla weakened against most of its counterparts but managed to hold on to its gains against the British pound and the euro.

EUR/USD slipped from 1.0590 to 1.0555, GBP/USD consolidated around 1.2175, USD/JPY dropped from a high of 116.35 to a low of 115.28, and USD/CAD traded between 1.3205 to 1.3250.

Every day, I will present to you my findings and daily commentaries on what recently happened in the economic arena, possible shifts in sentiment, economic events to watch out for, and their effects on currencies.

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